Yes! You can order a signed or personalized copy from The Book Cellar, a great independent bookstore in the Lincoln Square neighborhood in Chicago. Their contact information is here. Just include the particulars and give us a little turnaround time.

How did you get published? If I had to point to one secret to my success in publishing my first novel, it was patience. I didn’t even consider sending query letters to agents until I’d already published five or six short stories in literary journals and had a completed manuscript for a novel I was proud of. I probably went through ten MAJOR edits of the novel on my own, and all told, probably read and edited the whole thing 100 times before I allowed anyone else to see it. No, that wasn’t hyperbole–literally 100 times. All told, from the time I started writing regularly, it took me about ten years to have a book in hand, very close to Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours.Practically speaking, for fiction, the process is to send short stories (or self-contained chapters) to literary journals with a small circulation (500 or so, or these days, online) and then build your resume until you work is being published in larger journals. From there, your options are 1) to find an agent, who will contact trade (large) publishers on your behalf; 2) contact independent publishers on your own; or 3) self publish. These are really personal choices based on what kind of audience you're looking for and how much you're willing to do the legwork, such as marketing and publicity, yourself. I highly recommend subscribing to Poets and Writers magazine to immerse yourself in the world of writing and publishing, as well as the Writer’s Digest series: it’s how I found the literary magazines I submitted to, and how I ultimately found my agent (and now friend) Wendy Sherman. If you want to read more, Here's an interview with the Jet Fuel Review where I talk about publishing (among other things.) Have faith, and good luck!

Who designed the cover?

The illustration for A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True was done by an amazing freelance illustrator, Christopher Silas Neal. His web site is here. The book design is by Melissa Lotfy at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and the photos of me, by Chicago photographer, Matthew Gilson. His web site is here.

The cover for The Sun and Other Stars was designed by Ruth Lee-Mui at Simon & Schuster. My sister, Margaret, took my latest author photo (on the first page of this site.) She doesn't have a web site, but if you're in the Boston area and you bake her something delicious, she might just take your picture for you.